By Lidia Qattan

Incidentally the deplorable condition of the farm at our arrival prompted father to engage a team of agricultural experts to carry out tests on the soil and determine what sort of minerals were needed to restore it. At the same time a team of workers was hired to dig a network of ditches for irrigation, and a diesel pump was installed to pump water from a nearby canal.

All along the ditches were planted rows of trees and vines, while manure and chemical fertilizer were spread on the land, followed by the plowing and seeding. Using alternating crops for each season, within two years the soil regained its vitality.

At harvest time every farmer had to give a percentage of the cereals to the government.

Father had a cart loaded with sacks of wheat and barley to be taken in the morning to the Agrarian Consortium of Dolo, and posted a guard to keep an eye on them.

During the night father was awakened by the barking of the dog, when he saw from the window of his bedroom two men trying to pull some of the sacks from the cart he fired in the air to scare them away.